The manuscript of Nizami’s “Khosrow and Shirin” in Judeo-Persian from the collection of Elkan Nathan Adler

Abstract

This article discusses the ϐirst stages of the study of one of the most unique manuscripts in the collection of Elkan Nathan Adler (1861–1946), currently kept at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York. This manuscript (press mark MS 1398) is of great value. In addition to the fairly complete text of Nizami Ganjavi’s poem “Khosrow and Shirin” (142 sheets), it contains 12 miniatures of high quality. The importance of studying this manuscript is due to the very limited number of illustrated manuscripts in the Judeo-Persian language, making this codex a valuable source for the history of Judeo-Persian and Persian miniatures in general. In addition, a comprehensive study of this manuscript will allow us to better understand the nature of Jewish-Persian contacts, as well as the extent of their depth.